Percy Jackson: back from the dead
by Alexanderj
Summary: When Kronos was defeated he used the last of his strength to get his revenge. He killed Percy and took him to Tartarus. After five years of torture in Tartarus, Percy managed to escape, but time is different in the underworld. Up above only Seven months had passed, and Percy wants nothing more than to see his friends again. But is it meant to be? It seems the gods feel otherwise...
1. Chapter 1

** When Kronos was defeated, he used the last of his strength to get his revenge. He killed Percy and took him to Tartarus. After five years of torture in Tartarus, Percy managed to escape, but time works differently in the underworld. Up above only Seven months had passed. Seven months with all of Percy's friends and family thinking they would never see him again. Now all Percy wants is to reunite with all the people he loves so dearly, but is it meant to be? It seems the gods feel otherwise…**

Percy's POV

I wasn't going to make it. That much was clear to me as I got closer to Camp Half Blood. I had too many monsters to count chasing me and my energy was running out. I could feel my breaths getting quicker, my strides getting shorter. It was all I could do not to pass out right there; then I would be dead for sure. They were gaining on me and I wouldn't make it in time. My only option was to stand and fight, to fight alone against an entire hoard of monsters. I took out my lethal ballpoint pen, riptide, and uncapped it, changing it into its bronze sword form. Then I turned around and prepared for the ensuing bloodbath.

The hellhounds were the first to reach me. Seeing them instantly reminded me of my old pet hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary. Yes, I did just say that I used to have a pet hellhound. And yes, her name really was Mrs. O'Leary. At the memory I was suddenly filled with an extreme sense of longing. It had been five years since I had seen any of my friends. It had been five years since I had seen _her_; it had been five years since I had seen _Annabeth_. I pictured her beautiful hair: the way it always glinted gold in the sun, the way it carelessly fell down into perfect curls framing her face and made her look like a goddess. I pictured her gorgeous eyes: the way they sparkled whenever she talked about architecture, the way they would darken and swirl like storm clouds when she was angry, and the way I could get lost in them for hours. I thought of the how she would laugh whenever I was exceedingly stupid, I thought of how she didn't care about her looks like most girls did and most of the time dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt—and she still managed to take my breath away every time. Those thoughts, that longing, that desire…no, not desire, _need_...to see my friends again, rejuvenated me. I _had_ to make it to Camp. I _had_ to see Annabeth one more time. I _had_ to show them that I was not, in fact, dead…well…not _anymore_ at least.

I clung to those thoughts like a toddler clinging to his mother. They filled me with the same inspiration I used to escape from the depths of Tartarus, the same inspiration that I used to escape from _him: Tartarus' jailer_: the one whose blade cut countless scars into my skin; the one whose eyes were the only things in the world that scared me anymore. I would not go back there. I would not fall back into his grasp. I would not feel the sting of his blade, see the look in his eyes, and hear the sound of his manic laugh that accompanies every torture. I would not feel the same fear he instilled in all of his captives. _Never again._

Time slowed.

At least, that's what it felt like. Really it was just the adrenaline in my system making my body think and move faster, so by comparison everything else seemed slower. But that's beside the point.

With this newfound strength I fought with the same intensity I had during my escape, which is, to say, like a demon. I danced and twirled, my blade an extension of my own body, and some ice I froze an extension of the blade. I leaped, and ducked, and rolled, and spun, slicing through enemies like butter. I was surrounded by dust, like a miniature sandstorm, swirling around in my own personal hurricane, as the monsters disintegrated around me. In less than ten minutes all fifty assorted hellhounds, dracnae, emposai, and other deadly monsters were reduced to mere ashes on the ground. Even though I had lost my curse of Achilles, I was still invincible. The monsters simply couldn't touch me. Anything I didn't dodge was stopped by the thin layer of water I now keep surrounding my body during fights, hardening into protective ice upon any undesired contact, guarding me from harm nearly as well as the Achilles curse used to. If one good thing came out of my stay in Tartarus, it was that I had become much stronger.

And smarter.

When all the monsters were reduced to ashes I capped riptide and put it back in my pocket. I turned back around and continued towards Camp Half Blood. With my adrenaline-induced energy now depleted it was all I could do not to collapse on my journey to the camp. If any more monsters caught up to me I would be a goner but I couldn't let that happen. Then they would take me back to Tartarus and all my hard work would be for nothing.

As soon as Half Blood Hill came into view I got excited. Had I not just been completely drained of energy from the battle I would have sprinted the rest of the way. I could hardly wait to see everyone at camp. I wondered how long it had been. I had spent five years in Tartarus, five excruciatingly long years before managing my escape. But I knew that time works differently in the underworld. In the real world it could have been a hundred years, it could have been one year, it could have been only a month. For all I knew it could have been mere seconds. Judging by the lack of carnage back in New York, the last option seemed unlikely. But other than that, there was absolutely no way of knowing.

Regardless, I needed to see my camp friends again. They had become like a second family to me during the war with Kronos, and I missed them extremely badly. That's why as soon as I saw the figure standing at the bottom of the hill I called out excitedly. He just stood there, waiting for me to reach him, so I sped up my pace a little. When I got there though, I was surprised by whom I saw. Standing at the bottom of the hill was not a camper. In fact, he wasn't even a demigod. He was none other than Hermes, god of thieves.

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"Lord Hermes, what are you doing here?" I asked, bowing courteously. Hermes had been good to me in the past so I decided to show him some respect.

"I bear a message from Lord Zeus," he said, looking sad and a little guilty, making me wonder what the message could possibly be about, "you are not to return to Camp Half-Blood."

It took me a few moments to process his words. Then my first reaction was shock. Afterwards I felt anger, then curiosity, then anger again. "And why the hell not, might I ask?" I said, glaring at him.

"By order of the Olympic Council, you are officially banned from Camp Half-Blood," he said, not meeting my eyes.

My mouth hit the floor. Then that shock was replaced by burning anger that I could hardly control and I literally started shaking. No—it wasn't me who was shaking—it was the ground. I had started my own personal earthquake. I tackled him and half a second later had him on the ground with riptide pressed to his throat, drawing a thin line of golden Ichor. "You may be immortal, but I doubt a sword to the neck will feel too great, so I suggest you give me a good reason why I shouldn't do it right now."

"B-because I-I'm just t-the m-messenger. It wasn't my decision. S-stabbing m-me would a-accomplish n-nothing." He choked out.

I punched him in the face. "DON'T LIE TO ME!" I screamed, eyes flashing, my voice reverberating through the area and sending birds out of their trees. "I know it has to have been a unanimous decision, and you are a member of the council. You are just as responsible as anyone else!"

"I-I'm sorry, b-but I had n-no choice."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled, digging my sword in a little deeper.

"L-let go of me and I-I'll tell you."

I released him and stood up, but didn't take my eyes off him. "Well, explain yourself."

"You know it's illegal for a soul sent to the underworld to return to the world of the living."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well you did, and Hera wanted you killed for it."

"But—

"I know you save all our lives by defeating Kronos, and I know he took you straight to Tartarus for it, but in Hera's eyes that doesn't mean you can break one of the ancient laws. So, she decided she wanted you dead and asked to put it to a vote." He said carefully, watching my expression to try to see if I would attack him again. "Surprisingly, Athena was the one who stood up for you and argued on your behalf. She said that you needed to be rewarded for your actions and that being allowed to live could be the reward."

I tried to imagine Athena, the mother of my best friend and rival of my father, the goddess who seemed to hate me more than any other, standing up for me before the entire council. I couldn't.

"But Hera was adamant that the laws could not be broken. She said, 'if the law is allowed to be broken once, suddenly everyone is going to want to break it.' Then Hades came up with the idea that you be allowed to live on the condition that your life remains a secret, to be known only to a select few.

Those few were decided to be the gods, your direct family, and children of Hades, whom it would be impossible to keep the secret from anyway. Hera was appeased, on the condition that if anyone were to find out, you and said person would instantly be killed. Furthermore, she did not want your mother to know because she is mortal and Hera doesn't like the idea of a mortal knowing so much. Poseidon tried to change her mind about that but she was adamant. So the idea was put to a vote, and it was decided unanimously in favor. Unfortunately, part of keeping it a secret means that nobody who knows that you died is allowed to know that you are alive, so you cannot return to camp."

I closed my eyes, taking it all in. After all I went through to see my friends again, after putting myself through hell, literally, and going through all those extra tortures there just for the chance to escape. All of that, just so I could see my camp friends, so I could hug my mom, bicker with Thalia, tease Nico, hang out with Grover and Tyson, spar with Clarisse, prank the Stoll brothers, and spend time with all of my other camp friends. All so I could see Annabeth one more time. Now I was being told I would never get to see them again? I was furious…no that's an understatement…I was completely mad with rage.

I felt the familiar tugging sensation in my gut and everything went chaotic. The ground started shaking violently, all the water nearby shooting around violently—it had recently rained so there was a lot of water around. Before I could do anything stupid, I said to Hermes through clenched teeth, "I recommend you leave now, before I do something I will regret.

He followed my advice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter.**

Percy's POV

One week later—one week filled with countless chases by monsters who wanted a chance at revenge for defeating Kronos later—I was standing on top of a hill in San Francisco, California. Why was I in San Francisco, the most dangerous city for demigods? For exactly that reason, it was the least likely that I would run into anyone I knew there. As long as I stayed away from Annabeth's family I would be safe. But considering the fact that the last time I had seen them was a couple years ago, I doubted they would recognize me anyway.

Living alone in California had been tough. Heck, just getting to California had been tough. Without the protection of Camp's borders, monsters were following me like they were magnetically attracted to me or something. Talking to an empousa somewhere in Kansas I found out that I had double my normal scent ever since I died. I not only smelled like the sea as a child of Poseidon does, but also like death as a child of Hades does. The double scent meant double monsters which I was not grateful for.

A cold winter wind came over me but I didn't mind. I had experienced pretty extreme temperatures during my tortures in Tartarus: being frozen to temperatures as cold as -494 degrees Fahrenheit—just above absolute zero, the coldest temperature scientifically possible, defined as the complete lack of heat—and being bathed in the river Styx set to a boil with an electrical current running through it. So by this point I was pretty much immune to any temperatures existing in the world of the living, including that of fire. Which, came in handy during a fight with an empousa.

I surveyed the landscape to see one side of the hill drop at an angle too steep to descend, down to a highway that cut through the center of the hill, and the other side, the one I came up, leading to the other end of the highway. Off to the west was a city and beyond that the ocean. Maybe if I could get there I would be safe, I could go to my father's palace and he would probably protect me. But then I remembered the reason I was standing where I was and not at camp. The gods had voted and banned me permanently, saying I could never see my friends again, not even let them know I was alive. And Poseidon had been part of that decision. He had voted in its favor. There was no way I was going to just forgive him and go live with him, not until Tartarus freezes over. And besides, my instincts were telling me I was in the right place.

You learn early as a demigod to trust your instincts. In most situations they will be right. For example, my instincts had been the only thing keeping me alive since my talk with Hermes. They alerted me when a monster was coming, told me exactly how and where to run, and helped me get all the way across the country from New York to California. Now they led me to the top of this hill. The only thing was, nothing was there. I mean, I guess it was pretty defensible, with the steep fall on one side and a pretty tough hill on the other, but I couldn't stay there forever. I had had a Cyclops, two gorgons and four hellhounds chasing me for a couple of miles and although I could probably beat them in a fight, I would have preferred to avoid one if possible. So why were my instincts tingling like crazy?

Then I figured it out and I never felt so stupid. _The Highway cuts right through the hill, under my feet._ My instincts were telling me exactly where to go, I was just too high up! Having figured out where I was supposed to go I started down the hill. By the time I got to the bottom I could see the monsters off in the distance so I decided to hurry.

I entered the tunnel, walking along the side, looking for whatever my instincts had led me to. After a few minutes I found it. There, in the middle of the tunnel, was a normal looking door to a maintenance room. Only, it was guarded by two teenagers in complete battle armor carrying deadly demigod weapons. One of the guards was a really big and buff Asian kid who looked about fifteen years old and was carrying a bow. The other was a short girl with Hazel eyes and brown hair sticking out of the back of the helmet. She looked about thirteen years old and was carrying a long cavalry sword (I do know a thing or two about swords), which surprised me because there was no horse in sight. I walked right up to them and stood right in front of them when they blocked my path.

"Who are you, and what is your business here?" the girl asked, looking a little scared.

"My name is Percy Jackson, I'm a son of Poseidon, and I've had a Cyclops, two gorgons, and four Hellhounds following me for a couple of miles so I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me in," I said.

They were both a little shocked and fumbled with their weapons for a few seconds before the girl spoke again. "Frank, why don't you stay here while I take him to Jason and Reyna" she said, more as a command than a question.

"Sure thing Hazel," he replied. "Can you send over some help too? If he's telling the truth then I'll need it."

"No, that's not necessary," I said, "I can help you with the monsters. Then you can let me in."

"But you don't have a weapon, and do you even know how to fight anyway?" Hazel questioned.

"I do have a weapon," I said with a smirk, taking out riptide and twirling it in my fingers, "and yes, I do know how to fight. How do you think I made it here in one piece?"

"Um…that's…just a pen. That doesn't really count as a weapon. Do you plan to write the monsters a message or something, because I'm pretty sure they can't read so well?" Frank countered.

I took off the cap, turning it to its bronze sword form and said, "Just a pen, huh?"

For the second time today they were left speechless, but they came back to their senses when the monsters arrived.

"Frank, that's what she called you, right?"

"Yeah"

"Well, cover us with your bow while we fight hand to hand. You should shoot at the gorgons since they can fly out of our reach. You over there" I said, pointing to the girl, "you take the Cyclops; the extra reach of your sword will help you against its larger size. Remember, Cyclopes are big and strong, but they are slow and usually pretty dumb. Use that to your advantage. Keep away from its club until you find an opening. Then stab it in the back of the knee and it will be pretty easy to finish it off from there. I got the Hellhounds. Go!"

With that I charged the hellhounds. It took the other two a couple seconds to get over their shock at being ordered around by a stranger, but eventually they sprung into action as well. In about eighty second I was done with the four Hellhounds. Reminding myself that this cyclops was not like Tyson, so I stabbed the cyclops Hazel was fighting from behind. But it crumbled to dust we saw that Frank had taken out one of the Gorgons but the other got too close to him so he had to fight hand to hand, which by the look on his face I could tell he hated.

Then in a matter of seconds, a few things happened: Frank's sword was knocked out of his hand; The gorgon slashed him across his arm bringing a cry of pain out if his arm; Hazel screamed Frank's name and started running towards him at top speed as the gorgon went for the killing blow, but the girl wasn't going to make it in time. So, I did something really desperate: I used the trick that I had been practicing in Tartarus, but hadn't yet mastered.

I took the water bottle out of my pack and uncapped it. Then I drew the water out of the bottle, formed it into a spike-like shape, and froze it solid. Turning the water into ice was just a simple matter of changing its temperature which was not so difficult. The hard part was what I did with the Ice. With the familiar tugging in my gut, I shot the ice shard straight for the back of gorgon's head. Unlike water, controlling ice is extremely difficult and takes up a ton of energy. I did it once in Tartarus, during my escape, but then I had been saving up energy for weeks, and I probably would have fainted anyway except it's impossible to sleep in Tartarus. That way they get to keep torturing the prisoners and don't have to stop every time one of them faints. This time I had just walked all the way here from Manhattan so I was already very tired. But I did it, and with a thrust of my hand the gorgon evaporated, leaving only a shard of ice in its place. Then I blacked out.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Here is the third chapter of the story.**

**I do not own PJO or any affiliated characters**

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Frank's POV

When I saw the green-eyed demigod approaching me, my first instinct was to bow. He just gave off such a strong aura of power that I thought for sure he must be a god. I mean, I had seen my fair share of powerful demigods before. There was Jason, he was very strong, and there was also Hazel's mysterious brother Nico, who was possibly even more powerful than Jason but in a less showy and more mysterious way (don't tell either of them I said that). Most of the campers were afraid of Nico, but I never was, which was good because I had a little bit of a crush on Hazel. I just found Nico interesting and a little mysterious. But neither Nico nor Jason was even in the same _league_ as the green-eyed dude in front of me. As he walked up to me I was too afraid to even take out my bow. Then when he introduced himself as a demigod, a son of Poseidon, (which I knew was the Greek name for Neptune, although why he used the Greek name I wasn't sure) I was genuinely surprised that he wasn't a full-fledged Olympian god. I would have guessed he _was_ Neptune.

Not long later, the monsters showed up, and we were thrust into a battle for our lives. Not only did the green-eyed kid…Percy, he said his name was. Not only did Percy fight, but he took charge too. He expertly divided the monsters among us based on our weapons to give us the best chance of success. Not only that, but he took on the four hellhounds by himself! And he beat them, and Hazel's Cyclops, in less than two minutes! It took me that long just to get rid of the first gorgon.

Then suddenly, I lost my sword and the remaining gorgon slashed at my arm. It went for the killing blow, but just before it hit me it suddenly crumbled to dust. Percy was at least ten yards away but Hazel looked just as surprised as I was so I knew it wasn't her. I was just about to ask Percy what the hell happened, and how he learned to fight so well in the first place, when I saw him fall to the ground, unconscious.

"Hazel, what just happened?" I asked, bending over him and feeling for a pulse. I let out a sigh of relief when I felt it. I then searched for an injury but he looked completely unscathed! He just killed four hellhounds, a cyclops and a gorgon without getting a scratch! "He doesn't even have a _single_ _scratch_ on him!" I said.

"What! That's not possible, let me take a look." And look she did, but she also didn't find a single wound. "Who _is_ this kid? He doesn't have a tattoo so he has never been to Camp Jupiter before. How did he learn how to fight so well, and how did he kill that gorgon with just…a shard of ice?" she said, holding up a piece of ice from the ashes of the gorgon and holding it for me to see.

"I guess we'll just have to ask him when he wakes up," I replied, "it looks like whatever he did completely drained him. He's out cold."

"We'd better take him straight to Jason and Reyna."

"Yeah, let's go." I started to pick him up and Hazel helped me. With one of his arms over each of our shoulders, we carried him through the tunnel. As soon as we crossed the Little Tiber, we sent two demigods from our cohort, the fifth, to cover sentry duty while we took Percy to the infirmary and another one to go get the Praetors. Although we were both relatively new campers and didn't really have the authority to be ordering anybody around, when they saw we were carrying an unconscious demigod they didn't protest.

On the way to the infirmary we bumped into Dakota who told us that Nico had just arrived and was waiting for Hazel by Pluto's temple. So, she told him to tell Nico that she would come meet him as soon as she could.

A few minutes later Percy was sleeping soundly in an infirmary bed when Jason and Reyna walked into the room.

"You asked for us?" Reyna said.

"Yeah, we found a new demigod." Hazel replied and we proceeded to tell them the story of what had happened."

"So, where is this mysterious demigod?" Jason asked as soon as we were done.

"Right over there, in that bed," we said, pointing to Percy's bed a on the other side of the room.

"You said his name was Percy Jackson?" Reyna asked, looking angry for some reason.

I wondered what she could possibly be angry about but decided it was probably best not to ask. "That's what he told us," I said.

"Jason, I would like to speak to you outside, Hazel and Frank, you two are dismissed."

After Reyna made it clear that we were to leave, we decided to go see Hazel's brother. We walked along the curved path up to temple hill and eventually made it to Pluto's temple. When we got to the old, dusty looking temple, littered with millions of dollars worth of precious gems—nobody would dare steal from a god's temple so they just sat there untouched, although new ones did pop up occasionally—we saw Nico sitting cross-legged on the floor, twirling his pure black sword.

"Hey sis, what's up?" Nico asked her

"Not much. How was the underworld?"

"Same as usual: dark and gloomy," he said, "but I did meet a very interesting ghost there."

"Who?" I asked, curiously.

"William Shakespeare. He's a wonderful story teller, especially given the fact that in Elysium he has had tons of time to perfect his stories. I'm telling you, some of his new ones are much more interesting than Macbeth."

"That's cool, did you find the ghost you were looking for?" Hazel asked.

"No, and I'm starting to fear the rumors are true." He replied, looking extremely sad all of a sudden. He sighed, and then stood up and started pacing around the temple. I could have sworn that I even saw a tear fall from his face while he was walking around.

"What rumors?" Hazel questioned further.

"That he's been taken to Tartarus."

"WHAT?" Hazel and I both shouted, shocked.

"Yeah, Tartarus, I know. And he was a good guy too, saved my life a few times." Nico got a faraway look in his eyes, as if lost in his memories.

"Now, enough about me, how has camp been?" He was clearly trying to change the subject, but we didn't protest.

"Well, we found a new demigod today," Hazel said.

"Oh, really? Tell me about him."

"He's really strong and—"

"When I first saw him, I actually thought he was a god! He's that powerful!" I cut Hazel off, earning me an irritated glare.

"Interesting," Nico said, looking thoughtful "What did he look like?"

"He was really dirty, as if he had been walking for miles, but he was really good looking anyway."

I admit, I that comment made me a little jealous.

"He had really messy dark black hair and his eyes were the most intense sea-green I have ever seen. They were filled with so much emotion that just looking into them made me want to laugh and cry at the same time."

Now I was feeling very jealous.

Nico looked a little surprised at the description…okay, more than a little. His eyes were wide, and his face was even paler than usual. He leaned forward and asked, "Did he say who his parent is?"

Confused by what had Nico acting like that, I answered: "Yeah, he said he was a son of Poseidon, though why he said Poseidon and not Neptune I'm not sure, but I originally thought he _was_ Neptune. I mean, I've only seen the sea god in pictures but the guy looked almost exactly like a younger version of him and was so powerful I thought he couldn't possibly be just a demigod."

But Nico wasn't listening to my rambling. As soon as I said Poseidon he paled considerably—which I didn't think was possible, considering how pale he usually was—, got up, and started pacing around the temple, muttering to himself.

"What's his name, and where is he now?" Nico asked urgently as soon as he was calm enough to stop pacing and speak coherently.

"He said his name was…what was it again?" I asked Hazel.

"I think it was Percy, right? Percy Jackson…or something like that?"

"Yeah, Percy Jackson, that's it!"

"Where is he?" Nico almost screamed. He looked like he was about to burst with emotion. I mean, I had never seen him so excited in the my entire life.

Hazel and I shared a questioning glance but I nodded at her to speak. "Um…we last saw him in the infirmary, but I think Jason and Reyna are talking to him now so he's probably at the _principia_." Hazel answered.

"Why, what's this all about? Do you know him from somewhere?" I asked.

But he was already gone.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4.**

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Percy's POV

I dreamt of Annabeth. It was during the invasion of Manhattan, and Annabeth had just taken the knife for me. She was lying in a bed, breathing heavily in pain, and I was miserable. _How could I have let this happen? I'm supposed to be the one protecting her! Not the other way around! Why did she have to take the knife for me? Didn't she know I was invincible? How could she have known the knife was going to hit me in my Achilles heel?_

A million thoughts were swimming through my head. I didn't know if she was going to survive, but I knew that if she didn't I would never forgive myself. Just the thought that I could have caused her death was enough to make me feel like I was suffocating, the grief I felt wrapping its cold fingers around my throat and squeezing until I couldn't breathe any more. That's when I realized that I loved her. Seeing her in pain, at the mercy of the poison that could be killing her, I realized just how much I cared about her. No, I didn't just _care_ about her; I was in love with her. No matter how I tried to deny it, I, Perseus Jackson, was in love with Annabeth Chase. I vowed that from that moment on I would be the one protecting her. _Next time, I will be the one to jump in front of a knife headed towards her. I will be the one who could die at any moment and she will be the one at my bedside, crying, holding my hand, and praying to all the gods she knew that I would survive. Next time I—_

I woke up to the sound of arguing. I couldn't make out the words, but I didn't recognize the voices. I looked at my surroundings and saw that I was in some type of infirmary. I was lying on a white hospital bed covered in a thin blanket. I seemed to be unharmed and had recovered most of my energy so I stepped out of bed and walked over to the door. I was surprised to find that it was locked from the outside. I knocked on the door, and I must have gotten the attention of whoever was arguing because in stepped a tall, muscular looking blond boy, and an angry looking girl with glossy black hair and the poise of a swords-woman relaxed yet vigilant. I recognized her from somewhere, which surprised me greatly, but I couldn't tell from where. She looked angry to see me though, so I decided not to ask.

"Hi, I'm Jason and this is Reyna. We're the praetors of the Twelfth Legion of rome. Welcome to Camp Jupiter. What's your name?" The blond kid said, smiling.

"Percy Jackson. What's Camp Jupiter? And what is a Praetor?"

"Praetors are basically the leaders and Camp Jupiter is only safe place around for demigods, children of the Roman gods, like us," he said, looking at me, probably expecting me to call him crazy.

"But—"I was about to protest, knowing about Camp Half-Blood and never having heard of Camp Jupiter, but I was preempted by some thunder, effectively sending the message that I am supposed to keep quiet. The others didn't notice. "Okay, so what's it like here?"

He was a little surprised by how easily I seemed to be taking it but moved on quickly. "Well, camp Jupiter is made up of two parts: the Twelfth Legion, and New Rome. The Legion is where all newly discovered demigods or legacies, descendants of demigods, start for the first ten years or more."

"Did you just say descendants of demigods? You mean demigods have actually lived long enough to have kids?" I asked, very surprised at the notion.

"Yeah, all the time, why do you ask?"

"Well, it's just that, considering how hard it has been for me to survive this long, I find it hard to imagine demigods growing old and having kids." I lied, knowing that I couldn't reveal any information about CHB, and the fact that there were never any adults there.

"Well that what the Legion is for. It basically has two functions: training the demigods and teaching them how to fight, and protecting New Rome from monsters. After ten years of service in the Legion, demigods are permitted to retire whenever they wish. When they do, they can either go out into the world of the living and do their best to survive, or they can go and live in New Rome, under the protection of the Legion. In New Rome they can go to college, get married, have kids, and live a quiet peaceful life. The only exception being in emergencies occasionally retired Legionnaires can be called upon for service."

I processed all the new information. It seemed like this place was the Roman version of Camp Half-Blood. Judging by its title, Camp Jupiter, they probably used the Roman names for the gods too. It's a good thing I paid attention to Chiron in Latin class, otherwise I would not have been able to figure out as much as I did. "I knew I was a demigod, but I didn't know there were so many others. You're all descendants of the Roman gods, like Jupiter, and Neptune and Pluto? How many of you are there?"

"The legion is made up of five cohorts of about 40 each and there are hundreds living in New Rome. Do you happen to know who your godly parent is?"

"Yeah, I'm a son of Poseidon."

"You mean Neptune?"

"I prefer Poseidon."

"Why?"

"Personal reasons. It doesn't matter."

Throughout the entire conversation the black haired girl had just been standing there, arms crossed, glaring at me angrily, but suddenly she spoke. "Come, we'll discuss your arrival in the _principia_." She motioned for me to follow and walked out the door.

I didn't know what else to do, so I followed her and was impressed by what I saw. There was a beautiful city—with architecture Annabeth would have really appreciated and given me an hour long lecture about—nestled by the lake filled with people of all ages, and I assumed they must be the demigods Jason had described because the city looked like it was from Ancient Rome: ghosts were flying around talking to the people, and satyrs were walking around. There were even little kids running around, playing with wooden swords and shields. Then there were what looked like army barracks, a giant empty field filled with trenches and scorch marks, a coliseum, a line of temples leading up a mountain to a big one on top, and the _principia_ itself, which looked like the camp's headquarters.

When we got there Jason walked in first, then Reyna, and them me. But as soon as the door was closed Reyna pushed me into the wall and had her dagger at my throat. "Tell me, why shouldn't I just kill you now and get my revenge?"

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**please R, R, and R (read review and recommend to your friends)**


	5. Chapter 5

**I didn't get so many reviews after the last chapter. Was it too short? Was it just bad? Please let me know what I can do to improve the story. I am just a beginning writer so advice is appreciated.**

**Anyway, here is chapter 5; enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to Rick Riordan**

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_Percy POV_

_"Tell me, why shouldn't I just kill you now and get my revenge?"_

I didn't know how to respond, so I looked around and saw that Jason was just standing there, looking as confused as I was. For a demigod, the ability to read someone's expression is an essential skill, one that you usually learn fast or die. Unfortunately for me, I was never very good at it which caused me many problems in my younger days. But by that time I had pretty much mastered the skill.

The look on Jason's face read something like _how do they know each other, and why does she hate him so much? What's going on?_ But then I suddenly recognized Reyna, and it all fell into place. She was that girl from Circe's Island! Now it all made sense! She helped turn me into a guinea pig, and then Annabeth and I released Blackbeard and his pirates onto the island which they destroyed. That explained why she seemed to hate me so much!

I was broken out of my train of thought by the sound of growling and looked to see two metal dogs, one silver and one gold, growling at me. The silver one was standing at Reyna's side while the gold one was next to Jason. They both had razor sharp teeth and I guessed their claws would be just as deadly. I remembered hearing once that dogs can smell fear so and could use that to tell when people are lying. The dogs seemed to be looking at me like they were saying _please lie, please lie, then I'll get to eat you._ But I knew their ability wouldn't work on me. Fear was not longer a problem for me.

Now, I know most people would be at least a little bit afraid if they had a dagger to their throat, but I'm not most people. In fact, during my time in Tartarus, I had completely lost my ability to fear. The only thing that scared me anymore was the jail keeper and torturer of Tartarus. Nicknamed "The Ancient Fear," he was the Titan of fear before the gods took over and gave the job to Phobos. I've met Phobos too, and trust me, he's nothing compared to "The Ancient Fear." Just looking at Tartarus' jailer would drive most people to insanity. He gives a whole new meaning to the phrase _the only thing to fear is fear itself._ Compared to him, nothing was scary anymore.

So I knew that lying was still on the table. But the Romans probably didn't know that which means they would probably automatically believe anything I tell them with their dogs around which could serve to my advantage.

I scanned the room, looking for anything that could help my predicament. The _principia_ was even more gorgeous from the inside. We were standing in a short entryway leading into a much larger room. It had a pool in the middle of it filled with water—which I knew would come in handy—surrounded by columns and a marble walkway. There was a huge hole in the ceiling above the pool which confused me at first, until I realized that the water in the pool was rainwater which was probably filled by the rain falling through the hole in the ceiling.

On the outside of the walkway separating the pool from the rest of the room were several purple couches surrounding low tables which looked like they were sometimes used for eating, but it didn't look like they had been used for a long time. Leading off to the left and the right were two rooms, the one to the right with Jason written on the door and the left room had the name Reyna. Straight ahead, opposite the entryway were big fancy double-doors decorated with paintings of the Roman Gods, who looked exactly like their Greek forms with the exception of their clothes. I guess whoever painted those doors was pretty familiar with all of them. That room had the words "Praetors' Office" painted above it in fancy gold letters.

The entire building was filled with paintings and mosaics of the gods, heroes, and various mythological creatures, and the architecture was so beautiful that Annabeth could have spent hours admiring it all. But the most beau—

"I asked you a question. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you, or I think I will." Reyna pressed her dagger deeper into my throat, drawing a little blood and breaking me out of my admirations.

"Well maybe because deep down you know that I was not at fault for what happened. Your mistress was the one who turned me into a guinea pig! Did you honestly expect us to just stand there and do nothing?!" I answered walking forward and forcing her back, initiating the plan I had come up with seconds before.

She backed up with me, keeping her dagger pressed to my neck, looking shocked at my audacity and lack of fear with which I spoke but did nothing.

"Or maybe because you also know deep down that you were better off because of it. It looks like you're respected here. You have real friends," I said with a look in Jason's direction, "and you have a purpose. That sounds much better than just loitering at a spa, turning men into guinea pigs for all eternity!" I shouted. Having forced her back so that her back was towards Jason and she couldn't see him, I executed the crux of my plan.

Before she got over her shock I leaned forward and put my mouth to her ear. "Or maybe you should spare my life, because If you don't I'll be forced to kill your friend over there." I whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

A brief flash of fear crossed her face but she quickly recomposed herself. "What are you talking about, kill him?" she said through clenched teeth, "I'm the one with a dagger to your throat!"

"Are you sure about that?"

She was confused, but looked back towards Jason and saw what I was talking about. Her friend was completely surrounded by as sphere of water and was slowly running out of air. Then I pointed to her dagger and showed that it too, was completely submerged.

"Like I said earlier, I'm a son of Poseidon, and a few weeks ago I learned a new trick. I learned how to freeze water into Ice," I said, demonstrating on the water in a sphere around her dagger, making it no more dangerous than a Popsicle, "and unless you want me to turn your boyfriend into a new ice sculpture, I suggest you drop your weapon and tell your dogs to stand down."

She complied and I quickly kicked it across the room and took out my sword. I put my sword to her throat and said: "Now, you want to know the real reason you shouldn't kill me? Because, however tempting it may be, I'm _not_ going to kill you and your boyfriend." I lowered my sword and added a glare for effect and they both visibly flinched, "I can. But I won't. Not because I'm afraid to, but because I know how to forgive," I said, lowering my sword, releasing my hold on the water, walking over to one of the couches in the main room and sitting down.

"Now, can we please just sit down and talk like civilized people?" I asked, waving to the couch opposite mine.

When she processed the fact that I had really just spared her life she lowered her guard, took a step back, and just stared at me in shock. But she didn't sit down.

Jason walked over to her, whispered something in her ear, grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto the other couch. When the two of them were finally seated I waited for one of them to speak. The guy was the first to say something. "Okay, now that the excitement is over, can one of you please tell me what just happened? How do you two know each other, and Reyna, why did you seem to hate him?" he asked, looking at his friend, "And what was all that about guinea pigs?"

I decided to let her tell the story so I just waited silently.

"Well, Jason, before I came to camp Jupiter I worked at a spa."

"Yeah, you told me that," he said.

"The spa was called _C.C.'s Spa and Resort_. C.C. stands for Circe, the famous enchantress."

Jason looked surprised by this but stayed silent.

"She was my boss and the owner of the spa. She had a little thing she liked to do, which was to turn all the men who showed up at the island into guinea pigs. She used to use real ones but that got too messy. One day, Percy Jackson over here, washed up on our shore with a blonde-haired girl. C.C. tricked them, and turned Percy into a guinea pig. She then put him into a cage that was filled with other men whom she had turned into guinea pigs. Those men just happened to be Blackbeard and his pirates. Somehow, the blonde girl had an antidote to the potion that caused the transformation and dumped a bottle of it into the cage. Percy and the pirates were returned to human form and the pirates destroyed the spa. My sister Hylla and I barely made it out alive. I have hated Percy and his friend ever since."

"But Percy didn't do anything wrong?" Jason protested.

"I know that now, but I didn't know that at the time. I didn't know Percy had been turned into a guinea pig. I didn't know why they decided to attack the island or where the pirates came from." She explained. "That's why I was so surprised, Percy, when you said she had turned you into a guinea pig. I honestly had no idea."

"Well I'm sorry for destroying your home, but there was really nothing I could have done to stop it anyway. Truce?" I held out my hand.

"Truce" she took it and shook it firmly.

"Now that that's settled," Jason said, "there are a few things I would like to know."

"Like…" I encouraged.

"Like, you're about sixteen, right?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes"

He and Reyna looked confused by that response but wisely didn't ask me about it. "So if you weren't here, where were you all your life? How did you survive? Were you a loner? If so, how did you learn to fight so well?" Jason asked, "I mean, Reyna had the drop on you and it still took you almost no time to disarm both of us. How did you get so powerful?"

"Yeah, I was wondering that too. Is there another place for demigods like us to go train?" Reyna added curiously.

"I'm sorry but I can't answer those questions." I said.

"What do you mean you _can't answer those questions_?" they both asked at the same time, Reyna complementing it with a glare. "You come here asking for our hospitality, and then you try to keep _secrets_ from us?" Reyna asked, getting angry again. "Secrets of that magnitude!"

I kept up the poker face I had successfully maintained so far. "First of all, I never asked you for any hospitality, so don't go accusing me just yet. I just happened to be in the area when I noticed two teenagers in full roman battle armor and decided to see what it's all about. I haven't even decided if you are my enemies or friends yet, let alone whether I want to stay here." I started, "But that's beside the point. What I mean by 'I can't answer those questions' is that I don't want to lie to you, but I'm under strict orders not to reveal certain pieces of information; there are some things I can't tell anyone who doesn't already know. If you want to find out, you'll have to ask them yourselves."

"Orders from who? Ask who?" Jason asked.

"Olympus…Hera in particular...although it was Hermes who delivered the message…but that is his job after all." I stated nonchalantly.

"You…you mean…you've spoken to the _gods_? As in the immortal, all powerful Roman gods?" Jason asked, very stunned, not noticing my anger.

"Immortal, yes. All powerful, not by a long shot. And Roman…sort of. But yes, I have met the gods, multiple times in fact. I have even been to Olympus a few times. In fact, I think they've held votes on whether or not to kill me on three separate occasions, if I'm not forgetting any."

Needless to say, Jason and Reyna were dumbfounded. "You've been to _Olympus_? More than once?! And why the hell were they voting on your death?"

"Well…let's just say some of the gods, namely Zeus, Hera, Dionysus, Athena, Ares, Hades and, after what happened a few weeks ago, probably Hermes, don't like me very much."

"Who?" Jason was probably confused by my use of the Greek names.

"Those are the Greek names for Jupiter, Juno, Bacchus, Minerva, Mars, Pluto, and Mercury." Reyna answered for me.

"Oh...but why did you use the Greek names." He shifted his attention to me.

"I prefer them." He was about to speak but I closed the topic with a glare.

"Why don't those gods like you?" Reyna asked.

"Well, Hera doesn't like any demigods, Dionysus only likes his own children, and Zeus once accused me of stealing his lightning bolt and I kind of showed him up and proved him wrong, which he didn't appreciate. Athena just hates Poseidon and by extension all of his children, which got even worse when I fell in love with her daughter, and I've fought Ares, Hades, and Hermes, so they probably don't like me so much either," I listed, "But Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, and Hestia seem to like me well enough."

The two Romans were too shocked to respond.

"But that's enough about me. I'm afraid I can't tell you much about my past. Just know that I'm a son of Poseidon, that's Neptune to you, I speak Ancient Greek instead of Latin so don't bother trying to teach me Latin, and I am skilled with a sword."

Just then there the door burst open and in stepped Nico di-Angelo.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the wait.**

**Enjoy the chapter.**

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Nico's POV

Over the past few years, Percy had become something like an older brother to me. We bickered all the time, got in the occasional fight, but most of the time we got along reasonably well. He's the one I would go to with my problems and was always there for me. Even for the little while that I wanted to kill him, he still looked out for me and protected me. So, when Percy died, I was almost as hurt I had been when I lost Bianca.

Finding out that he was alive again was…well…it was one of the best moments of my life. As soon as I heard Percy's name, I ran. I ran all the way to the _principia_ without stopping or slowing down. When I got there I didn't have the patience to knock and wait for an answer; I just burst through the big fancy doors, panting heavily.

"Nico, what are you doing here?" I heard Reyna ask indignantly.

I couldn't really blame her for being angry; after all, I did just barge into her office uninvited and interrupt a meeting. But I didn't care. I just ignored her and looked straight at the black-haired, green-eyed demigod sitting on the couch, not believing what I was seeing. My vision tunneled. Percy was looking at me with a look filled with a vortex of emotions. He looked like he was about to laugh, and cry, and scream, and dance around the room singing opera, all at the same time. (Although I highly doubted he would do the last one.) I guessed that my expression was exactly the same.

Without a word, Percy got up, walked over to me, and enveloped me in a man-hug. I hugged him back and we just stood there, hugging and crying, for the next ten minutes while the _praetors_ looked at us in complete disbelief. "I thought you were dead," I whispered, tears in my eyes, "I thought you were taken to Tartarus."

"I was."

My eyes went wide. "How—"

"But I'm back now. I'll explain everything later." Percy responded. Then he released me, gave me a meaningful look, and turned back to the other occupants of the room.

"Am I missing something here?" Frank and Hazel must have come in while I was hugging Percy because when we finally released or holds of each other they were standing there too. Frank just looked confused, but Hazel was shocked.

"Um…you two…know each other?" Hazel asked.

We didn't bother to answer.

"Guys, you do know you're supposed to knock before barging in here, right."

"They're not just supposed to knock, Jason, they're not even supposed to _be_ here without invitation. Especially Nico." Reyna corrected, pointing to Nico, Hazel and Frank."

"I'm sorry, _praetor_, and I know I'm just a guest, but when I was told Percy was here, I just had to see him with my own eyes." I explained.

She didn't seem satisfied with my response but dropped the subject. "Yeah, about that, what's going on? How the hell do you two know each other?"

Just then the diner horn sounded so Jason said, "Come on, we can finish this discussion over some food."

And with that, we left.

Ten minutes later we were all sitting on couches around a low table in the mess hall. With both _praetors_; the ambassador to Pluto; a petite hazel-eyed daughter of Pluto; a big, burly, baby-faced, Asian-Canadian son of Mars who was still on _probaito_; and a new extremely powerful demigod nobody recognized, all sitting around one table, we were attracting a lot of stares.

Dinner today was pizza and pasta and Percy accompanied it with some blue coke, earning him questioning glances from the Romans, who apparently decided against asking him about it.

Reyna looked like she was about to start the interrogation but I preempted her. "Before you start asking questions I want to make a few things very clear."

"And what might those be?"

"First, that there is no need for Percy to go get his augury read by Octavian. I can vouch for him. He is a good person and will not do anything to harm you as long as you don't do anything to harm him or anyone he cares about. But as soon as you cross that line, if anything bad happens to Percy or any of his friends, you will have made an enemy out of a son of Poseidon and a son of Pluto. I owe Percy my life many times over and, as ambassador to Pluto, I warn you that any harm that comes to him will be viewed as a declaration of war against the king of the dead himself. That won't end well for you, I guarantee it." I emphasized it with a threatening glare towards the _praetors_ and then nodded to Percy, who blushed and took a sip of his coke.

Reyna and Jason looked very surprised, and maybe a little bit nervous, while Hazel was just shocked and Frank was terrified.

I didn't give them a chance to respond. "Second, you should just note that Percy is without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful demigod in the last _thousand years_, possibly _ever_, and could probably defeat the entire legion if he wanted to. And if you know me at all, you know I don't exaggerate."

The other demigods at the table started to protest—Percy just sat there looking even more embarrassed—but I interrupted them. "And third," I said over the chatter, "there are some things that Percy and I are simply not allowed to tell you and if you have a problem with that, too bad." I looked at Percy across the table and he nodded at me in approval.

Reyna was incensed. "What do you mean _too bad_? If you haven't noticed, Jason and I are the _praetors_ here and it is _your_ duty to answer out questions or face the consequences of treason! We give the orders and you follow them!"

"I'm sorry, _praetor,_ but Nico and I are under orders from the gods and those orders supersede yours. If you have a problem with that you can take it up with them." Percy had been so quiet during the exchange that the other occupants of the table had forgotten he was there.

Reyna studied Percy. However much she didn't want to admit it, she knew we were right so she dropped the argument. "Okay, fine. But at least tell some things."

Hazel decided it was her turn to speak. "Yeah, you said that Percy, _one demigod_, is stronger than the entire twelfth legion of Rome? I'm sorry, Nico, but I find that hard to believe."

The other Romans nodded in agreement.

I sighed, expecting the comment. "Okay, Hazel, I understand where you are coming from. I think a story may settle some of your doubts."

"What are you gonna tell them?" Percy looked at me curiously, sipping some more blue soda.

"How about the story of the first time you faced the Minotaur?"

Percy's face darkened but he nodded solemnly.

"So this happened before I met Percy, but I have heard the story countless times. The second monster Percy ever faced was the Minotaur."

Jason's eyebrows raised but he didn't comment.

"To make a long story short, Percy was once attacked by the Minotaur. At the time, he didn't know about the gods or goddesses' existence and had absolutely no training whatsoever. On top of that he was fighting bare-handed with no weapons, no armor, and an unconscious friend whom he had to protect. I wasn't there, so I don't know how he did it, but less than two minutes later the monster was dead."

"Wow," Frank mumbled. The four Roman demigods looked seriously impressed, their food forgotten on the table.

"And do you want to know the most amazing part?"

"What?"

"He was twelve years old."

For thirty seconds nobody said a word. "I'm impressed, but still not convinced," Jason said. "I still think you're no match for the legion. I mean, how could one person _possibly_ be able to take on two hundred fully trained soldiers?"

"But Jason, I'm not done yet."

"There's _more?_"

"Yes. A lot. But unfortunately a lot of it I can't tell you about."

"Well what can you tell us?"

"I guess I can tell you about Percy's encounter with Ares, or Mars as you like to call him." I looked at Percy silently asking him if it was okay to tell them about it. I received a silent nod in reply so I began my story. "Okay, so Mars is the god of war, one of the twelve Olympians, and your patron, right?"

"Yes," Jason replied.

"So do you agree that he is one of the best fighters in the world, if not the best?"

"Yes"

"Maybe even good enough to obliterate the twelfth Legion if he wanted to?"

"Where are you going with this?" Reyna interjected."

"Just answer the question."

She glared at me but responded: "Maybe, but he is a _god_."

"So then how would you respond if I told you that Percy beat him in a sword duel?"

"I would call you crazy" Jason said.

"Percy beat him in a sword duel."

"You're crazy."

"Yeah Nico," Reyna agreed, "You expect us to believe that a demigod was able to beat the god of war in hand to hand combat?" She looked around at Hazel, Frank, and Jason. "Let me guess, he was only twelve years old when he did that too?" She asked sarcastically.

Percy snorted, trying to hold back a laugh, but I didn't bother holding it in.

"What's so funny?" Hazel asked.

As soon as I was done laughing I decided to answer their questions. "What Reyna said," I chuckled.

"What about what Reyna said was so funny?" Frank questioned.

"It's just that," I chuckled again, "Percy _was_ twelve. In fact, it was less than three weeks after he defeated the Minotaur and found out about the gods' existence."

The looks on the Romans' faces were priceless.

Percy just blushed a little and took a huge bite out of his pizza.

Wait, wait," Jason protested, "You honestly expect us to believe that? I mean, I defeated Krios, but I was fifteen and had years of training and an entire legion for backup. And Krios is not the god of war. Not even close. I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. He sent a questioning look to Percy.

I glared at him and was about to speak, but then I decided better and sent a look Percy's way, telling him to enter the conversation.

Percy sighed and looked up from his food. He finished chewing slowly, everyone looking at him and waiting, until he finally spoke. "What Nico says is true, guys. I _did_ fight Ares when I was twelve, and I _did_ stab him through the ankle, claiming victory. But that's not what's important. Whether or not I would beat the Legion in a fight is not important. What's important is what Nico told you earlier about hurting people I care about. Just keep that in mind and we will never have to know the answer to this debate."

Percy spoke with such finality that nobody bothered to protest.

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**I decided to give you a break from cliffhangers. Instead I just ended off with some Percy awesomeness. **

**I wasn't going to post this until Friday but when I saw all of the reviews I got I couldn't help myself. Hint hint: (review more if you want me to update sooner)**

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